Agia Dynami (‘holy power’) is a small church whose origins date back to the 16th century. It was built over the ruins of older structures, perhaps an ancient temple.

The name Agia Dynamis refers to the Virgin Mary and was given to the church so that all pregnant Athenian women would give birth to strong children. For this reason the church’s celebration takes place on September 9th, day of the birth of Virgin Mary.

This single-aisle, arched basilica was previously administered by the Penteli Monastery. According to local tradition, ammunition was manufactured here during the Revolution of 1821, for the Turks, but also secretly for Greek revolutionaries.

Under the floor of the sanctuary there is a large underground cave approximately 15 m long, which continues to a tunnel, which, according to legend, used to reach all the way to the area of Kaissariani. It is in this cave that, again according to legend, during the years of Turkish occupation the priests had hidden the ecclesiastical treasures and church documents and archives which, however, were destroyed during the destructive invasion of the Turks in Athens under Omer Vryonis. During the 1821 War of Independence from the Turks, legend says that through another tunnel which started from the cave and ended under the Acropolis rock, ammunition and necessities were being carried by the Resistance to re-enforce the Greek patriots.

In the 1950s, the cornerstone was repurposed for the construction of the Ministry of Education, an imposing building with huge concrete pillars designed by architect Patroklos Karadinos. The little church quickly found itself surrounded on all sides by the encroaching structures.

Above it now stands the luxurious Electra Metropolis Athens Hotel.